Opaque Walls
by Ppleater
Summary: A castle of ice, on a tall white mountain. A young apprentice wizard, left alone with the elements. A far away country, it's ruler's wife sick. A brave young warrior, fighting for his mother. Silly boys, love is for fairy tales. KuroFai


This is a little ongoing oneshot that I finally finished, it's AU and Kuro-pu and Fai are teens in this story. I wanted somehting with an Ice castle. .

I've been doing this thing that involves writing their real names, so if there's a slip up then that's why.

Disc: I do not own Kurogane, Fai, or any other Tsubasa characters. If I did there would be more "KuroFai Moments" (like there isn't enough already XD).

Warning: Spoilers, sort of, even though this is AU.

Enjoy!

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It doesn't take much to befriend someone. Sure, you have to choose the right kind of person to ask, and sometimes you have to think of the right things to say, but most of the time making a friend can be very simple. All you have to do is say "Hello."

The real challenge is making the friendship last. Spending the time to make sure that the chemicals mix just right, making sure you are in it for good and that you can make it through thick and thin. It is very easy to make a friend, but it is even easier to lose one.

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He had always been scared of storms, deathly afraid in fact. Storms were wild and fierce, wielding magic so ancient that even someone as promising as himself could feel the weight of it crushing his own relatively feeble talents. And yet, as timid as he was in the face of such power, he felt the inevitable tug of its beauty. It was unbelievably pure, even in it's strength, because unlike him it did not have any restrictions on how it acted, and yet, no matter how much damage it caused, it still allowed you to survive, to rebuild, and to become stronger.

Fai envied the storm, because it had what he wanted: Freedom.

He crouched beside his icy window, the wind howling inches away from his face without touching him. He knew that it could easily shatter the window and tear at him and the room behind him, but he also knew that it could not take the time to do something so trivial. So he had no fear of the wind. His breath fogged up against the translucent surface, the heat of it conflicting with the cool glass, causing tiny beads of water to form there. It was a beautiful image, one that obscured his own reflection into something his young mind could imagine as mysterious, and beautiful. He had no fear of the cold. So what was he afraid of?

Even he could not answer that.

He turned away, sighing at the empty room around him. He had lived in this ice fortress alone for a long time, since his foster father had died, leaving him as sole possessor of all his previous belongings. He was too afraid to leave his house in the constant storms, and so it was soon rumored that the ice castle on the top of the mountain was abandoned, haunted only by the memories of the small child who had died there long ago. Except Fai had not died, he still lived, and now at age fourteen he could feel the effects of loneliness creeping upon him. And yet he was still afraid, so he waited, in hopes that someone would come up the mountain, and sweep him away to somewhere warm, where he wouldn't be troubled by ghosts of the past.

He sighed again, long and sad, and stood up, moving to pull shut the curtains, but as he did he spotted something outside. He had a clear view of the front gate from his room, and though he could not see clearly through the gale, he could slightly make out a dark smudge against the white ice of the wrought iron doors. His brow furrowed, and he quickly ran through the halls to the door that opened into the front courtyard. The wind was partially blocked here, and he hurried forward, shielding his eyes from the blinding flakes of snow. He had to call up a spell as soon as he got within ten feet of the gate, in order to keep the claws of the storm at bay, and finally he stumbled his way out of the door, skittering the last runes through the air with his index and middle finger pressed firmly together.

The wind shuddered to a halt at his command in a circle that was thirty feet in diameter, and after a moment of catching his breath he turned to look at what had given him so much trouble just by catching his attention. 'With my luck it's probably just a discoloration in the ice that formed from an air bubble or something…' But before he could finish this thought he inhaled sharply, ignoring the urge to cough as the freezing air burned his lungs.

Sitting slumped against the bars of the gate was a boy.

He pressed a hand quickly to his opposite arm, and pinched sharply, hard enough for it to hurt through the thick fabric of his coat. When the boy was still there he slowly stepped forward and knelt slightly, peering at the other young teen's face.

He was a very dark looking boy, with sharp features, and tan skin, and dark, spiked hair, sticking out in all directions from the wind. He was apparently unconscious, and his eyebrows were furrowed together in an expression that looked like it must be familiar on his face. He was strikingly handsome in an exotic sort of way, more bold as opposed to Yuui's pale skin, liquid blue eyes, and silky smooth locks of golden hair. He pondered briefly the idea that in a story book, he would be the beautiful prince, and the other would be the demon, dark, and brooding. But he did not think that this boy looked like a bad person, he looked more like the troubled kind. All this from a sleeping face.

Fai had not seen the face of another living being since before his father had died, and then he had only seen the few visitors that came to consult with Ashura-ou, the great wizard of the nation. In this instant he was fascinated by the very presence of this other child; the way he was cloaked in deep red clothing, that were, sadly, too thin to be of much use in this weather. And the simple contrast of the falling flakes that dusted his black hair, melting slowly, as if trying to cherish the warmth of his body. Fai shuffled forward carefully, leaning in slowly until he was so close he was nearly brushing noses with the other. His breath caught in his throat, and he was held with the desire to see what color this young man's eyes might possibly be.

In that instant crimson blossomed in his vision, and he looked straight into the surprised eyes of the boy, immediately taking back his wish, too late. There was a moment of pause, as those two pools of red blinked at him in confusion, then they bled into shock and the teen yelped, jerking his head back.

Right into the hard ice if the gate behind him.

Fai jumped back as well, a yell escaping him as the other youth swore loudly and rocked forward, his hands clutching at his head. But before Fai could react to this the teen rolled deftly to the side and leapt to his feet, coming to rest in a practice fighting stance, one hand laid on the pommel of a sword at his hip.

After a moment of gaining his bearings the youth blinked at the small form of Fai, who sat on his rump in front of him, and blinked in an oddly mirrored way, he relaxed slightly, taking his hand off of his weapon.

"Are you the wizard who lives here?" he asked, causing Fai to jump at the suddenness of his voice. He stuttered a few half finished sentences, trying to convey the conflict of the original wizard having died years ago, but he eventually settled with a sheepish nod.

"I guess you could call me that, yeah." He replied nervously. He could feel the heated gaze of the other upon him, and it felt uncannily like he was being burned by those searing eyes. Like they were looking inside him to uncover any truths he might have hidden. He did not look like any noble he had seen before; rather, he looked like one of those ninjas he had read about in storybooks. Dark loose clothes, dark hair, piercing eyes. But whether he was of royalty or not, he was here, apparently, for the help of the residential wizard, and when he had inherited Ashura's belongings, so had he inherited the responsibilities.

He stood cautiously, making sure not to alarm the young warrior, though he appeared to have been mollified by the information of Fai's position. "My name's Fai." He stated softly, holding out a hand. The boy looked at the offered appendage with a raised eyebrow, and lifted his own awkwardly, in parallel. He seemed not to know that he was supposed to shake, and Fai realized that he had probably come from a different country. "You're supposed to shake it." He instructed with a smile.

The boy gave him an odd look, and then wiggled his hand unhappily.

Fai couldn't help but burst into a giggle at this, and then proceed to full laughter at the shocked look on the youth's face, who took a cautious step back.

"You… You're supposed to shake my hand!" He gasped after gaining most of his breath. He reached out and plucked up the boy's fist, shaking it exaggeratedly. "Like this!" He giggled again, and the young man tentatively closed his fingers around Fai's smaller, colder ones*.

"My names… Kurogane." He said after a moment, his cheeks red. Fai smiled widely at him, pleased at this development.

"Nice to meet you Kuro-chan!" Fai chirped brightly, and he tugged him in the direction of the castle entrance, allowing the wind to close around behind them.

Kurogane frowned, and opened his mouth to comment on the odd way of address, but the adrenaline of surprise had worn off, and he was definitely not dressed for the weather. He staggered slightly, leaning unintentionally against the smaller boy, and his eyes blinked heavily. Fai gave him a concerned look, and helped him make it to the inner hallway, and then they managed to get to a nearby room before Kurogane collapsed heavily against the tall bed, sliding to the floor with a weary sigh.

"No one told me it would be so cold here…" He mumbled unhappily, running a hand through his snow dampened quickly scurried around and brought him a cup of hot tea, the only hot drink Ashura had taught him how to make himself, rather than something he had learnt from books. Kurogane sipped it down gratefully as Fai grabbed him a blanket, and it wasn't until the small boy had pressed the cool skin of the back of his hand against his forehead that he attempted to wave him away. "I'm fine!" He groused "I'm just not used to this climate. Even winter isn't this bad where I come from."

Fai made an unhappy face, kindred to a pout, but complied. He was warm, but not unnaturally so, and he would be fine once he finished his tea. But even so he hovered close. The only magic Fai had never been able to learn was the art of healing. The act of stitching something broken back together, and making it whole again, had always escaped him, and it haunted him. He had always wondered if he could have helped Ashura when he became sick… But he brushed those cobwebs of thought away, and instead poured a cup of tea for himself before sitting down beside his newfound friend.

"So what have you come all this way for?" he asked softly, fiddling with the handle of his teacup. Kurogane grumbled something tiredly, but after Fai repeated the question he managed to clarify.

"I need medicine for my mother, and I was told that only a wizard could make something powerful enough to save her. But all the wizards in my country have been weeded out, and this castle was well known for the power of the person who lived here." He looked down at the reflection of his face in the steaming liquid. "I only found out recently that he had died, but they had mentioned a prodigy here as well, and that nobody knew what happened to him." He shrugged. "I thought I'd give it a try."

Fai sighed sadly and nodded. "Yes, everyone thinks I'm dead because I never come out, but the truth is… I'm just not ready to leave yet." He turned and smiled encouragingly at Kurogane, his cheeks red from the heat of his tea. "But I do think I can help your mother! I happen to have a spare bottle of healing potion my master made before he died. I can't perform healing magic myself, but I saved it in case someone came along who needed something to this effect." He stood quickly and left the room briefly, returning with a small bottle that had a purple ribbon tied around the neck. "It's the only one I have though, so it's all I can give you."

Kurogane stood up as well, and took the offered potion, looking down at it with some semblance of hope. Fai smiled shyly at the expression on the other's face.

"Thanks." Kurogane breathed, relief evident in his voice. But it was tempered somewhat when Fai placed a hand on his arm.

"But if you're going to make sure that this gets to her, you have to get some rest to recover from your journey here, and you have to get some warmer clothes." Fai told him. Kurogane looked like he wanted to argue, but he stopped himself with a growl and nodded grudgingly.

"What do you want as payment?" he asked, tucking the small bottle in to the pouch at his belt. Fai smiled and shook his head.

"I've always wanted a friend, and now that I've got the chance to do one a favor, well, that's payment enough for me." He replied. Kurogane studied him seriously for a moment, as if scouring his face for truth, then his expression softened, the usual hardness of his eyes receding somewhat.

"Yeah, I guess you could be my friend if you want." He finally mumbled, his cheeks reddening as he turned to the bed. Fai grinned heartily and turned to let him sleep.

"Well, goodnight Kuro-tan!"

"You're gonna have to stop with those names…"

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Well there you have it, my little oneshot, how lovely.

I wish I could have fit in more humor.

*I don't think old Japan did the handshake thing, and if it did then... Well it didn't in my AU story. It was either that, or no humor at all.

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End file.
